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Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Vol. 99, No. 8
CAMPUS
Wildcats win in Tahlequah, page 8
1 section, 8 pages
ENROLLMENT
One for One
Minority retention analyzed in report Christinanna Lewis Contributing Writer
DANIEL GOMEZ // Chief Photographer
Blake Mycoskie, founder and “chief shoe giver,” of TOMS shoes, speaks in chapel on Monday. Mycoskie is the No. 1 sought after speaker for college campuses and in his speech Monday challenged students to incorporate giving into their lives. TOMS shoes were originally named “Tomorrow” shoes based on the premise that you buy a pair today and give a pair tomorrow, said Mycoskie. When tomorrow wouldn’t fit on the tag, Mycoskie modified the name and TOMS was born. The simple, canvas shoes come in a variety of colors and patterns. Mycoskie said his favorite pair are red with white stripes. To order your own pair of TOMS, visit www.toms.com. Turn to Page 5 for details on Mycoskie’s visit and the campus-wide TOMS Style Your Sole party.
CAMPUS
Group raises funds to alleviate malaria Jozie Sands Online Editor
A sophomore nursing major has joined forces with a Missouri-based nonprofit organization to rid an African village of malaria. Laci Butler of Sunnyvale was particularly motivated by a Chapel speech last spring by Brad Gautney, president and medical director of Kansas City-based Global Health Innovations. In the speech, Gautney described how his group
was working in various parts of the world to alleviate disease. Butler e-mailed Gautney after Chapel offering any help possible – and Gautney was quick to accept. “I really have a heart for international missions,” Butler said. “I was trying to figure out a way I could help since I can’t pick up and travel across the globe while I’m in school. This is a way, as a college student, for me to make a difference.”
Students at ACU, Lipscomb University and Pepperdine University are involved in Global Health’s “Nothing But Nets” campaign, whose goal is to abolish malaria in the African nation of Malawi by distributing thousands of mosquito nets. Global Health plans to raise $8,000 from ACU students by RACHEL UTLEY // CONTRIBUTING Photographer Oct. 1 to purchase 1000 To raise awareness for the Nothing But Nets cause, stunets for residents of dents gather in Moody after Chapel every Wednesday to Tonge Village in Malawi. see how many people will fit under one mosquito net.
While ACU’s freshman class is 21 percent ethnically diverse, the university may have trouble keeping minority students until they graduate, according to a report by the Education Trust. ACU had the seventh largest six-year graduation gap between black and white students of 163 private nonprofit colleges across the country, according to the study. The report, titled “Big Gaps, Small Gaps: Some Colleges and Univeristies Do Better Than Others in Graduating African-American Students,” found that ACU had an average graduation rate of 60.1 percent of white students, compared to 33.8 percent of black students – a 26.3 percent gap – from 2006-2008. This compares to the national six-year graduation rate average of 60 percent of white students to 40 percent of black students – a 20 percent gap. The average for private colleges and universities was 73.4 percent of white students to 54.2 percent of black students – an 18.7 percent gap. The study’s limitations While ACU does face the national problem of graduating ethnic minority students, the Education Trust’s study was subject to several flaws and limitations, said George Pendergrass, director of student multicultural enrichment. “I don’t think it’s reflective of what’s actually see GAP page 4
see NETS page 4
LOCAL
Abilene Memory Walk aims to increase awareness Meagan Hernandez Contributing Writer
At the end of the month, students, faculty and staff can participate in the Abilene Memory Walk and help raise awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association “Alzheimer’s disease is the epidemic of the 21st century,” said Libby Connally, regional direc-
tor of the North-Central Texas chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. While there is no cost to walk in the Memory Walk on Saturday, Sept. 25, the participants find sponsors to contribute donations to the cause. Students have the choice of walking as an individual or on a team. ACU’s Gerontology honor society, Sigma
Swantek stressed the importance of bridging the gap between younger and older-aged people. “Besides forming a team for the Memory walk, we will be planning other events, like Wii night at Christian Village Retirement Home,” Swantek said. Registration at the Abilene Zoo will begin
website
inside news The ACU Table Tennis Club, encourages students to join and plans to play students from other schools. page 4
Phi Omega, is forming a team to walk in the Memory Walk. Spaces on the team are open to anyone interested. “We want anyone in the ACU community to join our team to walk together for this cause, not just members,” said Mary Swantek, senior exercise science major and president of Sigma Phi Omega from Clarkston, Mich.
opinion The editorial board weighs in on the recent threats from a Florida Reverend to burn copies of the Koran. page 6
at 8:30 a.m. followed by a tribute ceremony. The walk will begin at 9:00 a.m. “There will also be information booths, refreshments, entertainment, such as the Sweetwater Community Band and the Texas Tornadoes Line Dancers,” Connally said. “The walk will be one time around the zoo,
although people can walk as long as they would like. Following the walk, there will be door prizes.” The Abilene Memory Walk is part of the nation’s largest event to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. “The Association is a non-profit agency that see EVENT page 4
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